We’ve got a few newer members so I want to explain how things work when I am developing new glazes. I search new glazes mostly on glazy.org but also from books and websites and other sources. I like your input!! If there is a glaze you’re interested in seeing, let me know! We have a LOT of glazes for a community studio. We get tired of seeing the same glazes every time so I like to add new glazes to the mix here and there. When I retire glazes, that does not mean those are forever gone!, but it does mean it’ll be a while before they resurface if they do. These are usuallly glazes that are either a single glaze that doesn’t play nicely with others or a glaze never used. Sometimes it’s just to mix things up.
I have mixed six test glazes, a couple are going to be a total surprise as I could not locate the colorant I was looking for so I subbed. That’s chemistry at its finest! Please do me a favor and go to glazy.org if you would like to have any input into the new glazes. If you want to learn to mix glazes, please let me know. A couple of you have and I’ll be glad to show you what is involved..
When you go to https://glazy.org first click on recipes then you will see several options underneath a chemistry chart. Ignore the chart unless you really want to get into glaze chemistry…anyway, you will see an option for temperature. Click on 5 1/2, that will bring you to glaze options for cones 5-6 usually which is where we fire. Under the subtypes drop-down you will find lists of colors. You can choose anything you’d like in this section and start looking! If you want a specific type of surface, matte, satin, glossy or transparency- opaque to transparent you can click further on the drop-down menus.
The main list of ingredients will also have a + then a colorant/colorants at the bottom, this is where it gets fun and if there are multiple colors in the photos of the glaze, it will be noted under the photo what that alteration is, if you like a certain photo, let me know what it is.
Pink. Red. Yes, everyone wants a pink or red glaze. First of all I cannot put my hands on the chrome which is a component in many red to pink glazes so please avoid those glazes for now, if I find it I’ll let you know! It’s in the Goodrich Cranberry so I know it’s there because I do not think we ran out 100%. And no recipes with stains. We don’t use Mason Stains, they’re perfectly fine to use and a good way to get the exact color you’re looking for but they don’t mix with other colors to create anything new and or exciting and they’re an expensive colorant. We have a huge range of colorants and raw materials so let’s avoid stains. We also use different bases for all of our glazes, this means they will blend nicely when layered and do exciting things.
Text me the link to the glazes you are interested in. You can also take a screen shot of the recipe but please be sure to include the name and the photo you like if you do that. I plan to mix up several more test recipes over the next week and I am hoping to get a bunch of test tiles made to try them out. I will have some final selections for you before the end of the month. Testing glazes takes some time. But let me know what you are interested in seeing or I’ll go with what I’d like to see.
I am testing the Field Mouse Gray I just added water to. It looks very different from the current bucket of glaze. I mixed this one up before the house flood and it’s been bagged this whole time so I honestly have zero idea of what is different. I will mix the proper recipe soon for Field Mouse Gray but let’s hope this bucket of whatever it is is pretty! I mixed large batches of both Val’s Turquoise and Orange Street and will get those ready to use soon.
I want everyone to be comfortable using the studio glazes. There are an amazing array of colors and textures you can achieve using them. I am happy to do a glaze lesson on a Sunday afternoon. Several of you have done this with me and I think it was helpful. I will schedule this and let you know when I am available. In the meantime, please make test tiles. I suggest those which stand up on their own in some way so you can see how the glazes move together, drip, run, etc. The more test tiles you make, the more you can experiment. And keep a glaze diary! I don’t, haha, so do as I say, not as I do. There is no charge for test tile glaze firing and I encourage it. If you’re more comfortable using only commercial glazes, some of those play very nicely with our glazes so test those out!
Thanks for helping with the glaze choices! Don’t forget to send me the links you find interesting. If nothing else, it will show me where everyone is leaning in regards to colors, surface textures, transparency etc.
See you in the studio!
Sarah
Comments